Aiming under deer to make the shot?

[BT]

Anyone else aim under their deer to make the shot?



I ran into a couple of guys in the parking area of a public land area here in Ohio last fall and we were talking about the usual when the issue of string jumping came up. Both agreed that the deer here are always on edge and regularly jump the string. Same as I have seen on every deer I have shot at since moving here.

This last deer I took had me aiming 10" under her chest at 40 yards and when the arrow hit, it hit her dead center. This was first day of the season and it was a young deer so education to hunting wasn't part of it. One of the guys I was talking to shot a recurve and he said one jumped on him at 8 yards... for those who are thinking it is a noise issue.

It is what it is and these deer seem to come out of the womb pre-programmed to bolt. Therefore I have been aiming under every deer that I have gotten and have missed every deer where I have held the pin anywhere on the deer..... From 20 to 35 yards it varies as to how far I hold under but under I am if the distance falls in this range.

Wondering if anyone else is doing this in their area's?.

For the record I don't aim at the heart for the reason that if the deer drops, the shoulder is falling into the path of the arrow (many times) and it didn't take me long to realize that I don't want that.
I find that many people who hit the shoulder are aiming at the heart and when the deer drops, that's what happens. I would rather be center of the cavity as opposed to the top of it so I hold under to get that, while staying away from the shoulder.
I will miss eventually, if the deer doesn't react (still waiting for that to happen) But the way I look at it.... at least (when that happens) I wont have a miserable tracking job ahead of me.

I actually got this method from watching a lot of hunting shows where the shooter would grunt to stop the buck before shooting. I am convinced that many of these shooters use this technique because when I run these shots in slow motion, the target buck drops on every shot it seems. Some drop a lot and some drop a little but they always flinch on the shot and the arrow always hits in elevational proportion to the arrows point of impact. After awhile I realized that there was no way they were shooting bows that fast and instead, many times they had to have been aiming under the deer itself.

[BT]

I was reading Chuck Adams second book last night and in the whitetail chapter he talks about hunting high (20-25') and the benefits of doing so. One of the benefits he claims is that when he is that high, his aiming point on the deer is as big as it would be from the ground.
The second thing he claims as a benefit is that when a deer string jumps, if you are looking down on it, the deer is not jumping the string as it relates to impact.

I never thought of it this way since I dont hunt that high.

That makes a lot of sense since, if you are looking down on something, as it drops, the point of impact only changes based on the angle of view. If you are directly over it the point of aim does not move and if you are 10 degree's off center the point of aim only changes by that amount and so on.

Now what I obviously don't agree with is chucks view on single lung shots. Chuck acknowledges what I have said in relation to shot angle, which is that if you decrease the angle, you increase the contact with both lungs. The opposite is true in the extreme that chuck is speaking of.

Chuck claims he hasn't had an issue with recovering single lunged deer but the way he writes the paragraph where he says this... there is something between the lines that tells me he has not been 100% successful. Maybe I am reading into it but he doesn't say with authority that a single lung is as good a shot as any.
I think chuck has lost deer to single lung and taken deer with single lung and the important thing to chuck is to get the shot first and then work to recover. This is how I read it and if thats the case.... It doesn't surprise me.

Also it is worth mentioning that chuck points out that (viewed from above) the width of the kill zone is the same as the height of the kill zone when viewed from the side.
This is why chuck has chosen to go high, because it gives him an advantage of getting close while keeping a large area of kill visible for aiming.

Still and all, theses are interesting concepts that are true for Chuck.

[Greg Krause]

When hunting with the compound I always hunt high. At least 25'. I usually set up that way for cover. Since I sit that high, I usually set up 25 to 30 yards off the trail for a good shot angle. I don't like steep shots. We proved in the video we made that its impossible to get both lungs with those shots. I have taken quite a few deer with steep shots but your shots need to be perfect to take out a lung and heart/valves for a guaranteed quick kill. Single lung shots can and will kill deer, but it could take a while to happen. There is also a small chance that a deer hit through one lung will live. The closer to the heart you hit the better with a one lung hit, so if you feel the need to take this kind of shot. Keep them forward! A quartering away shot where you make a larger cut in the lung and angle into the heart area is better yet. That being said I highly recommend trying to wait for a high percentage double lung shot!

[BT]

Couldnt agree more Greg

[ccwilder3]

The deer here in my part of Florida are much like you describe. They are a bundle of nerves on caffeine. It is the reason that I like fast arrows. Out to 25 yards at 320 fps, I aim for the heart. With my draw length and draw weight and the broadheads I use, I'm not worried if I catch the shoulder.
I hate shooting deer between 25 and 35 yards. At this distance they have time to drop and usually do. I can't remember how many deer I've spined between those distances as they dropped. Past 35 yards, they don't seem to drop as bad.

[BT]

The distance between 20 and 30 has always been the area of danger that I have seen... just as you describe. Your right... when they get out there they do not react in the same way as they do when you are right up close. Makes sense when you think about it.

If someone were behind you and popped a bag behind you, you would jump. If they popped that bag 40 feet behind you, you would just turn and look.